Could Japan have industrialized before Europe?

If 16th century Japan sensing the coming tide of Europeans, decided to embark on a process to keep it the most modern of world nations could it have achieved industrialization before any country in Europe?
 
If 16th century Japan sensing the coming tide of Europeans, decided to embark on a process to keep it the most modern of world nations could it have achieved industrialization before any country in Europe?
I would be an awesome and amazing foresight of the Tokugawa Shogunate!!!! :hushedface:

On the more serious side and leaving apart teleological thinking I can only see a previous industrialization if China did it first.
 
If 16th century Japan sensing the coming tide of Europeans, decided to embark on a process to keep it the most modern of world nations could it have achieved industrialization before any country in Europe?
Implausible. Japan was only able to industrialize since the British already set up the footwork on how to industrialize.

Song China industrializing is a much more plausible scenario, and is also a fairly popular AH topic.
 

kernals12

Banned
Countries don't industrialize, the businesses within them do. So that question is extremely difficult to answer, we still don't quite know why countries today don't industrialize (the standard answer is "corruption" but China was corrupt as hell in 1978).
 
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